Charmed Wolf Page 17

  No answer.

  So she needed a bit more incentive to pay attention. I drew my easiest to reach dagger, shaking my head when Rune moved forward to help me. In front of my pack, I couldn’t afford such softness.

  But I didn’t test him by going for my throat either. Instead, I sliced across my wrist in one fast stroke, drawing the edges of the wound open so blood would flow out faster. Eyes clenched shut, I poured my blood into the earth.

  “Guardian.” This time I spoke aloud, drawing my pack into a circle around me. Their attention would help seal the deal. It had to. How long could a baby survive in the earth without her mother? How long could Kale follow some fae-mandated quest through the dark without losing precious bits of himself? Was Ash even alive?

  Still no answer from the Guardian. The only sound was Natalie’s muffled sobbing.

  Okay. On to plan two.

  Slapping a hand over my wrist to slow my bleeding, I padded away from the devastation, toward the forest. Maybe the issue was proximity to the broken earth our mansion had descended into....

  Dozens of shifters followed in a wave of silent feet. Rune was there too, I could smell him. And Natalie, whose sniffles broke the silence. All of them were depending on me to fix this.

  I was Alpha. It was my duty.

  Faster, I pushed past young woods and into older forest. My wrist was starting to ache now. My ankle throbbed in time.

  Branches slapped me...then they didn’t. Rune had come up to clear my path, holding aside tree limbs before they could collide with my face.

  I barely noticed, so intent was I upon drawing closer to the heart of the Guardian’s territory. There was the big tree beneath which I’d first met the unicorn. There was the stream that flowed into a hole in the ground and disappeared.

  My father had once pointed out that hole to a much younger me. “This is a direct path to the Guardian. But make sure you never need to use it.” His tone made clear that if I succumbed to that desperation, I would have failed at my job.

  “So I’m that desperate,” I muttered. “So sue me.”

  “Tara?”

  For one moment, Rune and I were the only ones present, sheltered by budding hazel. The rest of the pack was close behind, though. They were already within earshot.

  So I shook my head and pulled my hand away from the wound on my wrist. Blood oozed out, albeit slowly.

  Rune opened his mouth, but I didn’t give him a chance to stop me. Instead, I clenched my own teeth down on the thin scab that had materialized while I pushed my way through the forest. Salty blood shot into my mouth and I spat the red into the clear water. Turning my wrist, patterns of crimson curled into the stream.

  “Guardian,” I called, “tonight I swear to choose a Beta. In return, I beg your assistance.”

  Nothing. Well, nothing other than pack eyes biting into me. Expecting me to solve this problem the way I had all others in the past.

  And I would. There had been two requirements from the Guardian. A Beta and an Heir. “I’ve chosen a Consort,” I continued.

  A fish sucked at my toes, and for a split second I heard the Guardian’s voice in my head. “But has your Consort chosen you?”

  My brows drew together. This was the Guardian’s reservation? “Yes,” I answered aloud. Then, to Rune, “Tell the Guardian that you have accepted the role of Consort.”

  Rune had sent the contract to his lawyer yesterday, but I doubted our fae protector would care about signed paperwork. We’d solidify the legal side after Kale, Ash, and the baby were back among us. For now, Rune’s word and mine had to be enough.

  Only, he was shaking his head. “Tara....”

  Was he shy? “Tell them,” I prodded, knowing the alpha bite wouldn’t force Rune to answer. Still, it would let him know how serious I was about the question.

  Rune’s eyes closed and the scent of persimmon that had carried me through the forest sunk away, fading into the flowing water. His voice was low, but not so low my pack couldn’t hear him.

  “I tried to tell you earlier, Tara. My lawyer explained the ramifications of the contract and they’re unacceptable. I won’t give away my rights to a child. No, I won’t be your Consort.”

  Chapter 33

  I stumbled backwards, his words striking me as hard as a blow. The connection I’d thought was growing between me and Rune had all been an illusion? Or, rather, a trick on Rune’s part to make logistics easier while hunting fae.

  “Your offer, although intriguing, is not why I’m here,” he had told me during our first meeting. When had I stopped accepting the obvious and started believing in faery tales?

  My mouth opened to spit out something harsh and pithy, but Natalie spoke over me. “Scones!”

  Okay, so my friend was having some sort of mental breakdown. And the Guardian had gone silent, her requirements unmet.

  So, ignoring Rune and the pang in my throat every time I thought of him, I clambered up out of the creek and took my friend’s hand. “The Guardian isn’t the only solution,” I promised her. “We’ll return your kids to you safely. You have to trust the pack....”

  Behind me, the pack in question shuffled from foot to foot. I could feel eyes on my neck, the wound there suggesting connections that were far from the truth now.

  I’d fix that confusion soon. But, for once, my bereaved friend needed to come first.

  Only, Natalie didn’t seem as broken as she’d been a moment earlier. Instead, the wheels in her head were almost visibly turning. “Lenny is fae. The scones prove it.”

  Her words still didn’t make sense, but I trusted Natalie’s analytical brain when her eyes got sharp like that. If she thought Lenny was the key to getting her kids back, we’d hunt down Lenny....

  Rune was beside me now, but I turned away from him. Instead, I barked orders at my father’s Beta. “Willa, keep the pack safe until I return.”

  Caitlyn, I added silently, you’re back on watch duty.

  The teenager replied with silent confirmation, but Willa didn’t obey me. Instead, she stood in my path when I started forward, as immovable as a boulder. Our gazes met, wolf bouncing off wolf.

  Her words, when they came, weren’t really a question. “If I may speak with you alone, Alpha.”

  In response, Rune growled. Stepped close enough to loom over her.

  The air between them sparked electric. Frustration made my voice sharp as I shouldered past Rune and acceded to my pack mate’s wish. “Make it quick.”

  Willa didn’t. Instead, she remained silent until all three of us—yes, Rune came too—had stepped far enough away from the pack so we could keep our conversation private. Only then did she hiss out her admonitions. “Our clan is facing the gravest disaster of our history. We need our Alpha here. Humans are a distraction.”

  “Some humans,” I corrected, “might be a distraction. But Natalie isn’t. Kale isn’t. Even the baby isn’t.”

  I thought Rune’s lips twitched ever so slightly at that last bit, but I must have imagined it. Because his voice was rough when he added his own reservations. “Dealing with fae can be complicated. If Natalie has correctly determined the source of the scent in Kale’s bedroom, we still have the same issues we had with Ash. This Lenny could be a fae glamoured to appear human or a human charmed to obey the fae. Each scenario requires a different approach.”

  I only realized Natalie had joined our huddle when a pink pacifier popped up in front of my nose. “Will this help?”

  I couldn’t see how. But Rune’s nostrils flared, the scent of persimmon swirling back around us. “You are brilliant.”

  “I know,” Natalie confirmed. Then, turning to me, “I’ll explain the rest in the car.”

  WILLA OBEYED THE SECOND time I told her to watch the pack. Had to since I pushed an alpha command into the words. After that, Natalie, Rune, and I hightailed it back to the vehicles. Only once we were driving did my friend have the breath to fill us in the rest of the way.

  “Lenny brought scones when he
dropped by this morning,” Natalie reminded me as I pushed the minivan faster than its preferred snail’s pace. Rune, in the passenger seat, had his eyes closed, the pacifier pinched between a thumb and forefinger. Twice now, he’d raised his other hand and pointed. Twice, I’d turned in the direction where his finger led.

  Despite his aid, the air between us was cold and unscented. My fault, not his. Rune had let his persimmon out...and I’d promptly opened all the windows to wash temptation away from me. I didn’t need my mind clouded by might-have-beens while on the hunt.

  “Did you eat any of the scones?” I asked my friend now, checking out her face in the rear-view mirror.

  “Is that actually a question?” Natalie rebutted. As we both knew, she was impervious to treats first thing in the morning, preferring the same cereal she’d consumed for more than a decade. Only after eleven AM did she spread her wings and indulge in other tastes.

  “But Kale did,” I guessed.

  “My son is perpetually hungry,” Natalie agreed. “He took the plate to his room. I can only assume he ate everything on it.”

  “And the pacifier?”

  “A gift for Hazel. But I wasn’t going to let her have it until I put it through the dishwasher. I popped it in my pocket...then I forgot.”

  So now we knew how Kale had been charmed the second time. And that the baby was an innocent bystander. Unfortunately, knowing didn’t do anything to bring the pair of them back.

  Still, something about the pacifier was giving Rune information on the fae’s location. I wanted to ask what he was tapping into...and I also knew that if I spoke the only thing that would come out of my mouth was the cascade of hurt he’d created by rejecting the role of Consort.

  So I drove while Rune meditated. Until, that is, Natalie did what I didn’t have the guts to do—she tapped on his shoulder.

  Rune’s eyes slit open, persimmon so strong it overpowered the window-whipped air swirling around us. “Yes?” he acknowledged.

  “I assumed the pacifier might be useful since it came from the same source as the scones that charmed my son. But I don’t know much about magic. What exactly are you doing?”

  “What he always does,” I ground out, even though the question hadn’t been addressed to me. “Using every tool at his disposal to track down fae.”

  I hadn’t bothered to keep the disgust out of my voice. Which might explain why Rune addressed me rather than answering my friend. “Tara...”

  I shook my head. Even though I’d been the one unbottling the issues between us, I now regretted it. Slamming the gas pedal all the way to the floor, I ground out: “Answer her question.”

  Extra speed cleared away the persimmon, or most of it. I could breath again when Rune complied with my demand.

  “A charmed object can lead you to its maker.”

  Natalie’s scientific mind came up with the obvious question before my muddled emotions let me consider implications. “So why didn’t you use the glitter that way?”

  “Too diluted. As best I can tell, the glitter was being used to passively soak up small quantities of energy to empower a weak fae.” Rune tapped the pacifier. “This, on the other hand, is fresh and strong. It’s likely what the fae did with all that energy. And...we’re here.”

  The structure that rose above us was a Victorian masterpiece. “Lenny’s house,” Natalie reported, hopping out of the van and slamming the side door shut.

  Inside the parked vehicle, persimmon grew stronger. “It really is Lenny,” I murmured. I wasn’t talking to Rune, I told myself, even though he and I were the only ones left inside.

  “So it would appear,” he answered. But he didn’t get out the way Natalie had. Instead, he swiveled in my direction. “Tara, it was not my intention to mislead you.”

  Without the force of moving air to brush scent aside, persimmon curled around my neck and shoulders. Like a spring breeze, it tempted me to spin and face my companion.

  It didn’t, however, do anything to mitigate my tone. “You’re here to hunt fae,” I spat out. “Pretending you were taking the job of Consort was an easy way to remain in my territory. I get it.”

  Rune’s eyes were sad but his mouth was expressionless. “That’s not precisely....”

  The back door slid open and Natalie stuck her head in. “As much fun as it is to watch you guys fighting, do you think maybe we could get my kids back before you start pulling out each others’ hair?”

  WE RANG THE DOORBELL. It didn’t seem like the best way to sneak up on the fae, but Rune promised our enemy was inside the residence. Plus—

  “The neighbors will call the police if we climb in a window,” Natalie observed.

  So, doorbell it was.

  Lenny himself answered. Not quite as slick and well-groomed as when I’d last seen him, he looked like a man enjoying his Sunday. “Do you have questions about the ceremony?” he asked, stepping out and pulling the door closed behind him. “I’d rather my wife not hear. It’s intended to be a surprise.”

  He appeared human...and yet the air that came out of the house along with him was full of lemon so sweet it made my teeth ache. Like Rune’s persimmon but stronger and sharper. The aroma repelled rather than attracted me. Somehow I knew it pointed to fae.

  So I dropped pretenses. Drawing a knife faster than was humanly possible, I prodded the underside of Lenny’s chin with the pointy tip.

  I’d expected a struggle. Instead, he was surprisingly malleable, acting like a scared human at the sight of weaponry. “I...” he stuttered. “You....”

  I let the wolf poke through my vocal cords when I addressed him. “I want the children back. Immediately.”

  “Children?” Lenny swallowed and the blade nicked his skin. A drop of red welled up underneath.

  Natalie was beside me then, leaning in close as she spat out her own additions to the interrogation. “There are caves underneath Whelan territory. I know this because I considered the geology before telling Tara where to build the factory. You know this because you’re using them to hide Kale and Hazel. Now tell us where those caves lead and how to get my children back to the surface before Tara grows angry enough to rip you apart.”

  Vaguely, I noted that Rune had wandered away from us. He’d hopped off the end of the porch and knelt down beside a bed of purple flowers. Kale would have known what they were, but I didn’t.

  I was pretty sure Rune didn’t either. Seriously? We found the fae Rune had been hunting this entire time and his reaction was smelling flowers?

  Then Rune rose and met my eyes over Lenny’s trembling shoulder. “He’s not fae.”

  I let my knife slide away from Lenny’s skin, but I didn’t release my grip on his shirt. Yesterday, I would have trusted Rune implicitly. Today, I trusted no one. “Who is then?”

  The front door opened, releasing such an overwhelming haze of sweet lemon I might as well have pulled a cake out of the oven. The same plump woman I’d seen on Lenny’s phone waddled forward.

  “He’s not fae. I am.”

  Chapter 34

  “Sweetie?” Lenny cocked his head. “What’s fae?”

  “Why don’t you go inside, dear,” his wife responded rather than answering his question. “You know you love the Sunday crossword. Those puzzles are much more fun than this one is.”

  Her voice was as soft as her jowls. Still, Lenny nodded as easily as if he was a werewolf slapped with an alpha order. “Good idea. Call me if you need anything.” The words trailed behind as he wandered away, into his house, as if there hadn’t been a dagger at his throat moments before.

  I held my breath until the door closed behind him. Then I led with my words rather than my weapon this time. “Natalie told me you babysat her children. Was that just a ruse so you could place them in harm’s way?”

  And, yes, I was speaking to give Rune time to creep up behind Lenny’s spouse. Despite not being my Consort, he knew more about fae than I did. Plus, his blade was longer. If I kept our enemy’s attention riveted on m
e....

  The effort worked...and it didn’t. “The children will be fine as long as I’m here,” Lenny’s wife noted. She turned as she spoke, glance sliding off Rune and his sword. “Why don’t you put that down, dear, and take a seat? I have a story to tell you. Maybe you’ll remember who I am by the time I’m done.”

  Before I knew what was happening, Natalie and I found ourselves side by side on the porch swing. A plump orange cat hopped up to snuggle between us, its purr lulling us both into lassitude.

  Rune, on the other hand, wasn’t impacted. The porch was draped with enough vines to shield us from public view, which allowed him to stand like a sentinel, sword extended but tip not quite touching the fae.

  “Your arm must be tired,” Lenny’s wife continued, and my own arms suddenly felt as heavy as anchors.

  Rune merely growled. And this time, the fae was the one bowing her head.

  “You’re right. I’m barely strong enough to hold onto this form. But perhaps if I explain....”

  Rune’s nostrils flared, but he didn’t dig the tip of his sword into her skin the way I’d done with Lenny. Instead he nodded and waited while Lenny’s wife recounted a literal faery tale.

  “Once upon a time,” she started, “my older sister and I lived on our parents’ farm. As children, we weren’t close. She was beautiful and I was plain. She was ambitious and I was happy tending to our parents’ orchards. But when the Queen requested my sister’s presence at Court, she couldn’t go without a handmaiden. So she brought me along.”

  Now Rune nodded, although his sword stayed up. “I do remember you. Not then. Later. You cleaned the chamberpots.”

  “My sister’s doing. Did you ever hear about that, dear?”

  Rune’s sword wavered. “My”—he cleared his throat—“the Queen had a lot to say about your sister. She considered her a daughter...then was furious when that supposed ally left.”